Bjoerk the bear and her two cubs, 18 February (photo: Bern Bear Park)
Update 26 February, link added Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Lausanne newspaper 24 Heures called it one of Switzerland’s best-guarded secrets, proving that it isn’t only bank accounts the Swiss are quiet about: Finn, one of Bern’s two much-loved zoo bears who was shot by a policeman in November when he attacked an intruder, became a father in December. The news came out only this week. Bjoerk, the mother, surprised everyone by not just hibernating but giving birth to two cubs at the Bern Bear Park, which is one of Switzerland’s most popular tourist attractions.
Finn, the father will remain alone in his part of the park, say zoo authorities. “Male bears have no fatherly feelings – he would just kill the cubs.”
The cubs have been named Urs and Berna.
Early January evening snowfall at Bern's Aare River and Bear Park
Bern's new Bear Park offers a lovely riverside walk, information on the animals
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Winter may not appear to be the ideal time to visit bears at parks, given their reputation for hibernating, but this is not stopping tourists from streaming to see the new bear park in Bern, which opened in late October 2009. Finn, a young male bear recovering after he was shot when an intruder went into the animal’s den, is particularly sought out.
“He’s in a kind of micro-hibernation,” says bear park spokesperson Marc Rosset, who says you have to have luck on your side to see Finn during these wintry days.
Finn, swimming again in December 2009
“He came to us from the Helsinki zoo, where he did hibernate during his first two years.” But in the slightly warmer climate of Bern, he occasionally goes outside. “He gets hungry, so he goes looking for food,” says Rosset.
Finn’s fourth birthday is 15 January.
Finn, 7 December, swimming again (photo: ©2009 BaerenPark)
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Finn, the four-year-old bear at Bern’s bear park that attacked a mentally handicapped man who slipped into his cage in pursuit of a plastic bag, is recovering well from a bullet wound. Finn was shot 25 November by a police officer to force him to let go of the man.
Finn the bear getting antibiotics. He and his intruder are both recovering 25 November.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The 25-year-old man mauled by Finn, a four-year-old bear at Bern’s new bear park, has told authorities he was trying to retrieve a plastic bag, according to Swissinfo. The mentally handicapped man has lived at a home in the town of Koeniz for some years and has been allowed to spend Saturdays walking around Bern on his own, as he has not been considered to be a danger to himself or others. The man sustained serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Finn, who attacked the man when he entered the bear’s enclosed area, was shot by a policeman, but the park announced Wednesday 25 November that Finn is doing better, although another day is required to see if he will need surgery:
New bear park in Bern, Switzerland
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A 25-year-old man who was injured when he climbed the wall of the new bear park in Bern, then slipped, is in stable condition after he was attacked by one of the bears. Finn, the nearly 4-year-old male who injured him, was wounded by gunfire from a policeman who was trying to save the young man, and the bear is in serious condition, according to Bernd Schildger, the head of Dählhölzli, the animal park of which the bear pit is a part. If Finn survives, which is not yet clear, he will not be put down, says Schildger.
Police have not been able to determine why the man, who is mentally handicapped, decided to climb the wall, where he crouched for a moment before falling four metres into the bears’ den.
